The Disappearance of the Mayan People (Research Essay Sample)

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Introduction

The Mayan people are an ancient group of people believed to have disappeared due to some reasons that have been explained by the use of theories. The theories are forwarded by different people from different parts of the world. The civilization of the Mayan people is believed to have disappeared between the 8th and the 9th centuries. Historians and archeologists have not yet proved whether people genuinely became extinct or they moved away to save environment to save their lineage.

Systematic Ecological Collapse

The theory argues that the Maya people exploited the land and the environment so extensively that this led to self-destruction. The theory argues that the Maya led to pollution of the environment, destruction of water towers and release of chemicals into the environment. Gradually, the entirely friendly and accommodative environment gave way to harsh and hostile environment with destructive agents that led to the extinction of the Maya lineage (Diamond, 2011). The agents that came with the harsh environment are forest fires, floods, earthquakes, famine and other agents of nature. They killed the Maya in large numbers so that they gradually became extinct.

Cultural/Political Warfare

The theory argues that the Maya developed cultural and political warfare that was widely destructive. The war arose from disagreements in selecting the community leadership. This led to a divided opinion. The leaders attained dictatorial-like characters. The war was so immense that it claimed the whole community and its wealth (Scovazzi, 2007). Finally, the remnants could not survive, and the community collapsed.

As for me, I would choose the ecological collapse theory as it sounds real and more applicable. This is because it can be viewed and related to the modern civilization where man has destroyed the environment to the highest level and created political and social warfare that has widely destroyed humanity worldwide. The degradation of the environment is intensive and worrying. This makes the case of the Mayan people more real yet so near (Sharer, 2006).

Conclusion

To conclude, it is evident that the Mayan people were the cause of their own destruction. The world has to learn from this and avoid this type of circumstances. The human race has to find a compromise solution of conflict resolution and environmental conservation.